Canary Girls poisoned by TNT

[missismac]

I am researching and writing poetry about the overlooked and forgotten girls and women who were very likely poisoned by TNT as they filled the shells.  Many are not on the official list possibly because their cause of death was inconclusive.

Does anyone have any information as to Maud Linda Louisa Bretherick Turner?  She lived in Holbeck and probably worked at Barnbow.  She filled shells. She died at Sheffield Union Hospital in April 1917 and the coroner put her death down to an abortion which may have been caused by TNT poisoning, but 'insufficient evidence'.  Whatever, Maud haemorrhaged to death, aged 25.  I feel she deserves recognition and remembering.  Maud had a sister Beatrice Johnson and a niece, Ida.  I believe there was also a younger brother, Thomas Arthur Langstaff. Does anyone know of any information or descendants?

Another 'Canary' is Mary Ann Johnson.  A shell-filler of Staincross Common who died in Beckett Hospital, Barnsley, aged 22.  She also died in April 1917.  I am wondering if this is the same Mary Ann who resided at St Chad's Home for Waif's and Strays in 1911.

Both the stories are so, so sad.  Does anyone have any information. I am especially interested in the Barnbow Canaries.

Thank you

Susan

 

[alf mcm]

Hello Susan,

  Welcome to the forum.

  They are indeed sad stories.

  This link fron 2016 describes a stage play based on the Barnbow Canaries. There is also roll of honour shown in one of the photos.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36558506

  One of our members, Jim Strawbridge  @Jim Strawbridge, has been researching women who died, including munition workers, for a few years now. I am sure he would be interested in what you have written.

  A search of the forum, {at the top right of this page} using "barnbow" will give a number of interesting results.

Regards,

Alf McM

[PRC]

Hi @missismac and welcome to the forum.

Forum member @Jim Strawbridge may have come across them - he has a long running thread trying to track down the final resting place of the female civilians who died in the Great War, (amongst other groups). Edit  - see @alf mcm has already tagged him while I was writing

1 hour ago, missismac said:

Maud Linda Louisa Bretherick Turner

On the 1901 Census of England and Wales she is probably the 9 year old Maud Turner, born Beeston, Yorkshire, who was recorded living at 4 Schwarfelder Place, Beeston St Mary, Leeds. Head of a the household was a single man, Herbert Langstaffe, aged 23, a Blacksmiths Striker, born Holbeck, Yorkshire. Herbert has a servant, the Housekeeper Sarah M. Turner. Sarah was a 43 year old widow, born Dewsbury, Yorkshire.

In the column showing relationship to the head of the family, that for Maud is shown as "servants daughter". Also in the household is a 10 year old Beatrice Turner, born Beeston, ("servants daughter") and an 8 month old Thomas A. Turner, born Beeston, ("servants son").

Going back to the 1891 Census of England & Wales, the "30" year old Sarah M.Turner, a Cloth Weaver born Leeds, was already recorded as a widow. Along with her 10 month old daughter, Beatrice B., also born Leeds, she was living with her parents, John & Sarah Brammer and numerous siblings at 31 Town Street, Beeston, Leeds,

The Civil Registration District for both locations was Holbeck.

The birth of a Beatrice Bleatherwick Turner, mothers' maiden name Brammer, was registered with the civil authorities in the Holbeck District in the April to June quarter, (Q2), of 1890.
The birth of a "Maud Lindy Louisa Turner Bretherick", mothers' maiden name Brammer, was registered with the civil authorities in the Holbeck District in the July to August quarter, (Q3), of 1891.
The birth of a Thomas Arthur "Langstaff", mothers' maiden name Turner, was registered with the civil authorities in the Holbeck District in the July to August quarter, (Q3), of 1900.

Judging from the 1901 Census it would appear Herbert wasn't keen to acknowledge responsibility for any of them.

Something obviously changed - the marriage of a Herbert "Langstaff" to a Sarah Mary Turner was recorded in the Holbeck District in the April to June quarter, (Q2), of 1902.

There are no obvious children subsequently born in England & Wales with the surname Langstaff \ Langstaffe and the mothers' maiden name Turner or Brammer.

There is no obvious death for Herbert between 1901 and 1911, but by the time the 1911 Census of England & Wales was taken on the 2nd April, the 51 year old Sarah Mary Langstaff, a Cloth Weaver born Leeds, was again recording herself as a widow. Sarah was the head of the household at 5 Essex Road, Hunslet, Leeds. The only other person living with her is her 10 year old son, Thomas Arthur Langstaff, born Leeds. They occupy two rooms at that address.

If Maud and Beatrice were on the 1911 Census of England & Wales they have done a good job of hiding themselves. As you can see names and spellings as well as place of birth seems to have varied considerably.

Hope that helps,
Peter

[alf mcm]

Peter,

  A tree on ancestry shows Maud and Beatrice in Halifax in 1911.  https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/175160041/person/412276618161/facts

I'm guessing, but I think that Susan may have created the tree.

Regards,

Alf McM

[PRC]

7 minutes ago, alf mcm said:

A tree on ancestry shows Maud and Beatrice in Halifax in 1911.  https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/175160041/person/412276618161/facts

Thanks Alf - my free account on Ancestry means I can't see the tree. I was just going from the question mark in the OP as a sign of uncertainty !

Will hang fire before duplicating anymore of the genealogical stuff

Cheers,
Peter

[missismac]

Hi Peter and Alf, thank you so much for your prompt replies.  I am astonished.  I did put together a tree on Ancestry for Maud.  I was hoping that someone, somewhere would add to my researches.  I came across Maud's name on a 'list of the poisoned by TNT' and although her name was scored through, it was still readable.  She lived in Holbeck in a street near where I went to school.  It seems she was meant to be found.

I have sent for her birth and death certificates.  It seems to me that both Maud and Beatrice were the children of John Joseph Bretherick who was a lodger, according to the 1891 census, at the home of Maud's grandparents, John and Sarah Brammer.  I'm struggling to find anything more about John Joseph Bretherick after this.  I don't think he married Sarah Turner although she took his name on Maud's birth certificate.

The changes of name were interesting.  I think Sarah and her children moved about a lot.  Certainly, sister Beatrice and her husband Alf, were travellers who worked the amusements and Maud worked with them.  According to the 1911 Census that is.

Maud's death certificate is very sad and shocking.  She died in Sheffield Union (Workhouse?) Hospital on 25th April 1917.  Her death is cited as being haemorrhage following abortion which may have been due to TNT poisoning but insufficient evidence to say definitely.  She was a shell filler and I presume she worked at Barnbow, but cannot be sure.  Prior to her death, she was living in a caravan at Smithfield Market, Sheffield (presumably with sister Beatrice).  I'm assuming she went to Beatrice because of being ill. I have come across a report called 'Epidemiology of TNT' by W J O'Donovan MD.  This report includes a table showing 14 cases of deaths relating to TNT poisoning in the munitions.  One case, a female MB, whom I really think is Maud Bretherick as the details seem to fit.  Dr O'Donovan is clear that fatal uterine haemorrhage could be mistaken for abortion and not attributed to TNT poisoning.  Poor Maud, left of the list because of insufficient evidence.  She deserves to be remembered as do the other 'forgotten' canaries. 

I have tried to get the Coroner's report but have been told that records were destroyed in the Blitz.  My Ancestry tree has also hit the buffers with any more information regarding Beatrice and her children.  I doubt that Maud has a headstone.  Poor working class lasses rarely do.  It would be wonderful to learn more.  In the meantime, Maud (and others) are the subject of poetry.

Thank you again so much for responding.  It's wonderful to hear from you.

All the best

 

Susan

 

[alf mcm]

Susan,

   It seems that John Joseph Bretheridge died in Peterborough, Northamptonshire in 1899. The age seems right.   https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8914&h=3971579&tid=&pid=&queryId=d25e7519c283d3c4a0ab431a5d8fc8f2&usePUB=true&_phsrc=pEt6057&_phstart=successSource

Regards,

Alf McM

 

[missismac]

Hi Alf, thank you for the post.  John Joseph Bretherick is a bit of a mystery man.  I found him in 1891 as a lodger with the Brammers (Maud's grandparents) and again on Maud's birth certificate in July 1891 living at 4 Mill Fold, Beeston.  I couldn't find him anywhere in the 1881 census.  Where did he go?  Don't know if he stuck around for Sarah Mary Turner and the girls!  He strikes me as a bit of an itinerant. Maybe he was a sick man or married.  I feel for Maud and Beatrice always being pulled from pillar to post over Beeston and Holbeck. Their mother would need to work or marry someone. No wonder they're difficult to pin down with the changes of names.  I notice that on Maud's death certificate, her surname was down as 'Turner'.  

It's fascinating, but very addictive.

Thank you for the link

Susan

[PRC]

15 minutes ago, missismac said:

John Joseph Bretherick is a bit of a mystery man.  I found him in 1891 as a lodger with the Brammers (Maud's grandparents) and again on Maud's birth certificate in July 1891 living at 4 Mill Fold, Beeston.  I couldn't find him anywhere in the 1881 census. 

On the 1891 Census he is recorded as 37 years old and an unmarried Fitter, born Leeds. As John Joseph Bretherick he is on the 1861 Census, (aged 7) and the 1871 Census as John Jos, (aged 18, a Mechanic), both times recorded as born and living in Hunslet with his parents Benjamin,  another mechanic, and Dinah.

On the 1881 Census of England & Wales the family have been recorded by the census taker with the surname BUTTERICK and were living at 61 Beeston Road, Hunslet.

Image courtesy Genes Reunited.

Father Benjamin appears to have died in 1885 while Dinah had died three years earlier in 1882.

However, probably a good point to remind us that this is a forum dedicated to the Great War and not a genealogy forum - before the admins close us down

Is there anything to link her specifically to Barnbow rather than any other munitions works? Does the Doctor Epidemiolgy piece specifically relate to that works, or was it more general in scope?

Cheers,

Peter

[missismac]

Hi Peter, thanks for clearing up the 1881 Census mystery for J J Bretherick.  I don't want us to get shut down!  The reason I started to build a family tree for Maud was in the hope some other relatives could provide information as to Maud's life.  I know I am making assumptions as to her working at Barnbow, but where else could she have worked.  Her death certificate had her down as a shell filler and her address was Recreation Terrace, Holbeck.  Barnbow workers were drawn from Hunslet, Holbeck, and Beeston and trains picked up the workers to take them directly to Barnbow.  I am convinced that TNT poisoning contributed to her death, but the death certificate shows that the evidence is insufficient.  However, TNT poisoning was mentioned. Unfortunately, the O'Donovan report does not specify actual places or names (only initials) and is general in scope.  I shall read it more carefully to see if there is enough evidence, but I am not hopeful.  My only thought was that the report would not include individuals unless there was a chance of TNT poisoning in the first place.

I will continue to try to obtain the Coroner's report, any newspaper reports, and anything else not destroyed in the Blitz.

Thank you so much for your help and interest

Cheers

Susan

[Jim Strawbridge]

I have arrived to this string rather late (just out of hospital but fine now - touch wood). I have researched both women and this has been pretty well covered in the comments above. Susan is correct in that Mary Ann Johnson was in St. Chads Home for Waifs and Strays in 1911. Her father died in 1905 and her mother in 1903. Her father was a miner by profession but became a cripple. Mary had at least three siblings.  Money must have been very short. At the time that Mary was born her mother, Elizabeth, was aged 48 (b. 1846). Not impossible but my own thinking is that she was probably an illigitimate child of one of Elizabeth's two daughters - Elizabeth (born 1876) or Jane (born 1881) - but responsibility taken on by Elizabeth. It is a shame that her grown-up siblings did not take her in but I suppose that Mary was in the Home from 1905 and in 1911 would have been looking for work as a 16 year old. She is in an unmarked grave. Maud Bretherick (I choose this name rather than Turner) has a more tricky background. Her mother had three partners of whom two of them she married. She was born Sarah Brammer. She married Daniel Turner in 1878 and he died in 1882 with no children. She returned to live with her parents and in 1889 John Bretherick became a lodger there. They never married but there were two children - one with the name of Turner (Beatrice presumably born illigitimate and taking the name of her widowed mother) and the other as Bretherick (Maud, also illigitimate but recognised as being John's). John Bretherick died in 1899 and Sarah married Herbert Langstaff in May 1902. He died in 1911. By 1911 Beatrice was married to a showman and Maud was living with them "on the road". There is no evidence that I know of that Maud worked at Barmbow. I also do not know where she is buried. I hope that all of this makes sense and there may be a few errors as it is the early hours. I wouldn't worry about being genealogical - the admins will realise that the core is all about a WW1 female casualty and her family history is all part of knowing about how poverty and expectation of enjoying a slightly better life (wages at a filling station reflected the danger) completes the story.

 

[missismac]

Hi Jim, thank you for the information about Mary Ann. I felt sure she was the same girl who was placed in St Chad’s. I expect she made socks or worked in the laundry. The high wages of Barnbow must have seemed a godsend at the time and a way out of poverty. Again, I am presuming Barnbow. I may be wrong. The Imperial War Museum list does not specify.

I must admit that Maud Bretherick’s story has really got under my skin. I was born and raised in the same area as her and probably walked along the same streets with my dad. I know I am making a leap that she worked at Barnbow, but when I look at old maps of the area, Maud lived close to other girls and women that I know worked at the filling station. Her death certificate shows she was a shell filler snd TNT may have contributed to her early death. Such a sad life, but I like to think of her having fun working the feasts and fairs.

My interest in the Canaries was generated when I was asked to take part in a radio docudrama called ‘All Quiet on the West Riding Front’ which focused on the 1916 explosion at Barnbow. It can be found on the Chapel FM, Seacroft, Leeds local radio. In the archives. It has received much acclaim and the team is working on a follow up. Even though Maud appears to have been almost scrubbed from the face of munitionette history, I am determined to give her a ‘voice’. Maud, Mary Ann, and the other working class lasses deserve not to be forgotten 

Thank you do much for taking the time to respond and provide so much information. It is appreciated.

Regards

Susan

 

[Tyke2]

On 04/11/2021 at 21:08, PRC said:

Going back to the 1891 Census of England & Wales, the "30" year old Sarah M.Turner, a Cloth Weaver born Leeds, was already recorded as a widow. Along with her 10 month old daughter, Beatrice B., also born Leeds, she was living with her parents, John & Sarah Brammer and numerous siblings at 31 Town Street, Beeston, Leeds,

Hi PRC,

this is uncanny but the John Brammer mentioned was my Great Grand Uncle. I’ll see if I can uncover any more info for you.

[missismac]

It would be great if I could learn more about Sarah Brammer and her children Maud, Beatrice, and Thomas. I learned that Beatrice had a daughter, Ida, but failed to find any other descendants. If anyone could shed more light on Maud’s life especially, this would be so good.

A group of us are researching and writing about the ‘lost Canaries’ including Maud Bretherick

Thanks folks

Susan

[Michelle Young]

You might find this of interest, written by forum member Nigel Marshall.

https://www.marshallsbattlefields.com/blog/the-barnbow-explosion-december-1916-and-its-devastation-of-a-leeds-family

[missismac]

Hello Michelle.  Thank you so much for the link. Such a sad story about the Bainbridges. I have discovered other heart-breaking stories of the Canaries. We are lucky not to have faced such dangerous times and hardships. I grew up in Hunslet in the 40s and 50s. It was grim, but there was always food on the table. A much luckier generation.

Thank you again for the really useful information

Susan